A Better Tomorrow
by The pen or The sword
Summary: Steven was known as many things, forgiving, hardworking, loving, a great friend, and so much more. Yet beyond all those things what stood out most was his capacity for kindness, and his willingness to grind himself to dust for the benefit of others. This could and often did land Steven in some troubling situations. (AU)A rewritten version of that scene where Steven held the scythe
1. Chapter 1

**Whelp I did this to make up for that terrible scene in the movie.  
**

Steven couldn't help the grin that pulled across his exhausted features, the day had been a long and trying one, every action, every move just felt like it drained more from him. He was figuratively on his last legs and his gem was no closer to being better, at least he'd managed to get Pearl and amethyst back to their old selves. That still left him with Garnet and the giant poisonous injector looming over his home.

Despite that, he could make out his happily ever after just beyond the horizon. There newest friend was using a horn made of her arm to deactivate the giant poison pump, bringing a sigh of relief from the rest of the gems.

"So now we just need to get Garnets missing pieces and fix my powers. Then we can all go back to our happily ever after." Steven grinned as he faced the group of gems pushing down his exhaustion, he was so close. Behind him, he heard a sniffle and spun around to see tears at the corner of Spinel's eyes.

"What about me? Is that it? Is this all you needed me for?" Spinel's voice cracked, rage and sadness twisting her voice into a jagged thing. Looking at her in that moment tears filling her eyes, she looked as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.

"Of course not...Well, we did need you to stop the drill and undo this thing." Steven explained as he pulled out the rejuvenator, activating the weapon. He felt himself cringe as he considered the way his statement came across, glancing at Spinel he found her gaze locked onto the scythe, eyes full of fear, anger, and betrayal. He could sense it, his family grew concerned behind him, some of them preparing their weapons, all the while Spinel seemed to be growing angrier.

Steven felt so tired, part of him simply wanted to put the scythe away, to explain that she could be part of their happily ever after, that she didn't need to worry because he wouldn't just abandon her. The genuine fear in the eyes of the gem made him pause though, part of him wondered if words would be enough. Over his many experiences, he had learned that sometimes words weren't enough, sometimes you needed something grander. He needed a gesture, something to show the gem they didn't want to hurt her. That the scythe he now held wouldn't be turned against her when everything was back to normal...

Steven could only think of one gesture that would be enough to show his sincerity, to show her the truth of his offer to be her friend. Yet he didn't feel like he had any strength left to give, but that look...It was too much for him to simply ignore, Steven was many things, kind, forgiving to a fault, a nurturing person and full of love.

Beyond all these things though Steven knew his greatest flaw, he would give anything and everything to help someone else. Even if that person wouldn't thank him for it, even if they planned to stick a knife in his back he couldn't let someone suffer when he could make a difference.

With a sigh, he gripped the scythe handle placing it over his knee and strained with what little strength he had left. The weapon bent, creaking as he forced more strength from his worn body. Ignoring his muscles protest he continued to bend it over his knee, the weapon groaned in protest bending further and further until there was a loud crack, the handle splintering as the rejuvenator broke in half.

Lifting the two pieces in front of him he saw Spinel's confused smile, grinning back he felt electricity arc through his body as the two halves glowed. He heard his friends cry out in warning, saw a white light glowing behind him. Heard Garnet shout his name despite the imminent explosion, he felt himself grin as sweet darkness claimed his over-strained body.

* * *

Spinel couldn't help the light feeling that filled her as Steven broke the rejuvenator over his knee, the kind smile he offered her. It was a promise, that he hadn't simply been kind to her to get what he wanted, that he wouldn't abandon her. Then the pieces glowed and before she could properly understand what was happening they exploded kicking up a cloud of dust leaving Steven face down in the dirt unmoving. She felt herself cry out as she lept towards his form, ignoring the other gems swarming towards him, she stretched to wrap around Stevens still form tears pouring from her eyes.

"Steven! No no no...You can't leave me two, you aren't allowed to leave me behind! You promised!" Spinel shouted in Steven's face as she curled tighter around him. She felt something tugging at her, trying to get her unraveled from his still form. Words were being yelled at her but she was to busy staring at Steven, he broke the scythe, he promised not to leave her behind and he wasn't moving!

Suddenly a large weight crashed into her head painfully jolting her from her trance, glaring upwards she found herself staring into the cool unfeeling shades covering Garnet's eyes. The other gems all had their weapons drawn but Garnet seemed to have taken the lead. Part of her wanted to lash out, why weren't they helping! Alas the rest of her was too focused on the fact Steven still wasn't moving, she was determined to hold on and if the other gems wanted her to let go they'd need to poof her.

"Spinel! Steven is fine, he's just unconscious." Garnet's voice while monotone held an edge of comforting warmth, she took a knee removing her shades to look Spinel directly in the eyes.

"He's not moving!" Spinel growled shifting her teeth to razor sharpness, narrowing her pupils to pinpricks to further show the extent of her disbelief.

"Spinel, he's just knocked out, can't you feel it? His heart's still beating, his lungs are still taking in air. He is still moving, just not as much. As long as you feel that beat he's ok." Garnet explained calmly pointedly ignoring her attempts to drive her off. Confusion filled Spinel, now that the fusion mentioned it she could feel something against her coiled body. Steven's chest was rising and falling, even more, there was something in his chest that pulsed in a steady rhythm.

"He's...He's ok?" Spinel sniffled as she pressed her head against his chest, taking in the steady beat as she coiled tighter around his body. Garnet nodded with a warm smile, the other gems had lowered their weapons as they watched their leader calm the unstable gem.

"Yes he is, but if you don't let us take him to rose's fountain he might not stay that way. His powers still aren't back and that blast didn't help, let us take him so we can make sure he's fine." Garnet slowly explained to the gem that seemed determined to bury her head into Steven's chest, she offered her hand to take the injured teen from Spinel's coiled grasp.

"NO! I...I don't...I won't be left behind again..." Spinel practically growled at Garnets outstretched hand, Garnet looked frustrated at her swift rejection. She almost seemed unsure of how to respond to Spinel's refusal. Then Garnet gave a loud sigh lowering her hand as she stood back to her feet, reforming her shades in the process.

"What if I let you carry him to the fountain? You don't have to let go and we can make sure Stevens all right. I don't want to fight you but we need to make sure Stevens going to be ok," Garnet bargained hopefully and it gave Spinel pause. Steven was alive, he was probably hurt though and the gems seemed determined to bring him to a fountain? Part of her wanted to question them further, why on would they be bringing Steven to a fountain of all places if he was injured?

Alas Spinel could sense how impatient the gems surrounding her were growing if she didn't comply soon then one of them would poof her and take him anyway. With a sigh she unraveled from his body, lifting him into a bridal carry and turned to follow Garnet pointedly ignoring the distrustful gaze of the other gems.

* * *

The trip to the fountain was less than pleasant for Garnet, she could feel Pearls annoyed gaze drilling a hole into her back. She could see several futures where Amethyst decided to poof Spinel's form before they reached the fountain thus she stood next to the gem holding Steven to deter Amethyst outburst. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot seemed at a loss on what to do though they didn't seem overly pleased by the arrangement.

Garnet was doing what she had to though, even without future vision it was obvious Steven would be mad if he woke to find Spinel bubbled. Especially after he broke the scythe to make Spinel feel better, Steven had already forgiven the gem. Despite their misgivings, Steven had a solid track record for bringing gems over to his side. The look Spinel had on her face while she carried Steven convinced her that he wasn't in danger and her future vision seemed to agree.

They made it to Rose's fountain with little fuss which considering the futures Garnet had been seeing was quite lucky. The sun had almost fully set painting roses fountain in an almost ethereal golden light, Spinel seemed confused by the statue of rose, it seemed she hadn't known Pinks other face. Spinel marched to the water's edge glancing at Garnet in question, she seemed almost lost in that moment. Pulling a small smile on her face Garnet stepped into the water in hopes the gem would get the idea.

Spinels confusion seemed to fade as she sighed before entering the water, Steven glowed in her arms as the bags under his eyes faded. The litany of cuts and bruises disappearing as well and Garnet heard the other gems sigh in relief as Stevens worn appearance all but vanished. Spinel pressed her head against Steven's chest again seeming confused before she glared at Garnet menacingly.

"He's still not moving..." The look of genuine confusion made Garnet smile, how long had it been since Steven was a baby and Pearl had panicked about the same thing? How long would it take for Spinel to understand just how different humans were to them? More how long before she realized how similar they were despite those differences?

"Its called sleeping you dunce, it's great! You just lay around close your eyes and don't move for hours" Amethyst explained with an evil grin as she cannon-balled into the fountain, splashing the rest of the gems. Pearl indignantly squawked, Bismuth shouted out a bemused threat before leaping in after her, Peridot hid her tablet behind a rock thanking Lapis for saving her technology from the water, and Lapis smirked lightly as she used her power to throw Amethyst into the air.

"So...He'll start moving again later?" Spinel turned to ask Garnet as Amethyst was too preoccupied to further explain her statement, rather than verbally respond Garnet gave the gem a thumbs up. Steven may have been asleep but he was safe and soon enough they would find his missing piece, even through her blurred vision of the future she could be sure of that.

Still, despite the feeling of relief that Steven being healed brought, something about the way Spinel was staring at Stevens unmoving form felt...Alarming, looking at her the future seemed only to blur further. Still, she trusted Stevens judgment and Steven had forgiven the wayward gem. If the Diamonds had gotten a second chance why not Spinel as well?

* * *

Spinel was sorely tempted to start another fight with the crystal gems, after returning Steven home and putting him to bed they had insisted on dragging her away from his sleeping form to get rid of the injector. She didn't get what they were worried about, it wouldn't start up again without her horn, still she set the thing back into orbit to calm them down. The problem was they wouldn't let her go back into Stevens room now that the injector was gone, they wanted to talk to her.

Pearl wanted to know where she'd been for six thousand years, Amethyst just kept making scathing remarks whenever she could and Garnets cool silence wasn't helping. She pushed through though gave them the story about why she had come to earth, her six-thousand-year wait, everything she didn't want to think about. Amethyst seemed to calm after her story, her anger cooled by her pity, Pearl had simply covered her mouth in shock while Garnet simply nodded.

She felt annoyance burn through her, she didn't need or want their pity. She hadn't even wanted them to know her story, she'd only told them because she had no doubt the gems wouldn't allow her to wait for Steven if she didn't explain. She stood up and began ascending the stairs to Stevens room, apparently, humans slept for several hours at a time. So she figured she could watch him until he woke up, the way his face looked when he wasn't actively moving was quite interesting to look at. Then she felt a large hand grip her shoulder, she turned to see Garnet.

"What are you doing?" Garnets calm voice seemed concerned and Spinel felt a growl slip through her lips. Why did they keep bothering her? She had told them everything they needed to know! She just wanted to go and watch Stevens face and the weird thing where his chest raised and fell repeatedly.

"I was going to watch Steven sleep and talk to him when he started moving again, why?" Spinel rolled her eyes as she pushed the fusions hand off her shoulder.

"Yeah about that, humans don't like to be watched while they sleep," Amethyst chimed in from her position sprawled across the couch, her focus now on a bag labeled chaps. The gem extended her tongue to grab the fried bits of food directly from the bag, Pearl raised a finger disgusted look stretched across her face before she sighed and turned to face Spinel.

"Amethyst that's unsanitary, but she is correct Spinel. Humans don't enjoy being watched while they sleep, at least when they start getting into their teen years. Honestly, its quite silly Steven only started complaining after he turned fourteen, I'm betting its one of the side effects of this puberty thing I read about..." Pearl groaned lightly as she sat down as far from Amethyst chap eating antics as she could.

"P, Steven didn't know you watched him sleep till he was fourteen..." Amethyst mumbled with a raised eyebrow at her friend, impressively she managed to speak with little issue despite her tongue still being buried in the bag of chaps.

"I fail to see how that has any relevance, the point is Spinel if you're caught watching Steven sleep he'll be annoyed," Pearl stated with a smile as she moved to the back of the temple, approaching a large door with five gems.

"Get caught?" Garnet turned her disproving gaze to Pearls quickly fleeing form, Pearl blushed slightly before opening the large door and quickly shutting it behind her. Garnet sighed in a bemused fashion before following after Pearl, approaching the door caused it to glow red this time and without a proper farewell she entered the strange door as well.

"Then what do I do until Steven starts moving again?" Spinel sighed in annoyance, she'd much rather be able to watch Steven but she doubted the remaining gem would allow her to continue her trip up the stairs considering the protest she and her compatriots had spoken.

"Its called waking up, as for wasting time? You've come to the right place, I am an expert on the subject, I recommend food and television!" Amethyst recommended as she reached over to press buttons on a small black device, suddenly the screen on the other side of the room burst to life with some random humans running from an explosion. Feeling a dull throb through her head Spinel took a seat on the couch as well and watched a bunch of humans she didn't care about dealing with some catastrophe she cared even less about.

* * *

It had been several hours the TV still blared, two of the action movies had come and gone with Spinel no closer to understanding why she should care about the burly men escaping explosions and shooting each other with strange-looking weapons. How was this supposed to amuse her until Steven woke up? The food at least was fun to eat but Amethyst kept trying to feed her some rather...Unappetizing things, she was now sure you weren't supposed to eat the packaging around candy regardless of Amethyst claims to the contrary.

The only light making its way into the house was from the moon, Amethyst had fallen asleep which at first had shocked her. Why would Amethyst decide to sleep? How did a gem even sleep? She had assumed it was a solely human activity... Even more, wasn't Amethyst there to act as a pseudo guard for Steven? She had assumed after the others left the purple quartz had remained behind to keep an eye on her. Yet considering she was making rather loud noises with her eyes closed and sprawled across the middle of the couch that didn't seem to be the case.

Spinel found the noise odd but more she was confused, poking the purple gem had simply resulted in her turning over and away from her. It felt...Lonely, despite the gem right next to her, glancing over she could see the stairway leading up to Stevens room. Nobody was awake and Pearl had said Steven would be upset...If she were caught, grinning slightly she stood quietly making her way up the stairs to Stevens room.

He was tucked under a layer of covers decorated in a star-like pattern, his chest was slowly rising and falling the movement felt almost mesmerizing, the way he made noise reminiscent of amethyst but far quieter was pleasing to her ears. She couldn't resist the urge to extend one of her ears stretching it to hang just over his chest, she could make out that same rhythmic beat that meant he was going to be ok.

Looking over Steven, listening to the steady beat of his heart and the gentle rise and fall of his chest filled her with a warmth she could only remember feeling at pinks smile. The soft emptiness sleep pulled across his features only amplified the warmth in her chest to a degree she didn't fully recognize.

Despite the fear of being left behind, the fear of him waking up or the gems finding her here, a smile pulled across her face. He may have been asleep but he was there, he hadn't left her behind. This moment was solely hers and for the first time in six thousand years, Spinel didn't feel alone.

**I blame each and everyone of you for this... Why did I write this? That scene in the movie was just...Just awful so I rewrote, hope it didn't come out to badly there. Will I continue? Depends on where my muse goes saying that Im easily swayed by reviews. Fair warning if/when I continue this will probably will end up a stevenxspinel ship. Why? Cause I think I could do some fun things with this, how long before we get to their actual relationship? No idea, I'll let the story decide! Read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**All right considering the response to this I figured I'd make a chapter two... Enjoy**

Steven woke feeling refreshed, the aches and pains of yesterday had faded. A grin pulled across his lips as he readied himself to leap from his bed and greet the morning but he paused. Lifting his arm into the air he summoned his shield, heart filling with hope only for the weapon to glitch out and disappear.

Sighing he rolled to his side to get out of bed only to find a pair of large red eyes staring at him. He let out a less than dignified sound as he leaped from the bed crashing to the floor in a heap, he groaned aloud as he realized he'd forgotten his floating power still wasn't working either. Rubbing his head he sat up to find Spinel leaning over the bed to look down on him, her eyes full of concern.

"Spinel? Wha...What are you doing in my room?" Steven narrowed his eyes in suspicion, Spinel wrung her hands together nervously as she blushed. He gaze shifted towards the door as if she was wondering if she could simply escape the question.

"...I...I was watching you sleep, I just... The Amethyst fell asleep and I felt so alone," Seeing the tears gathering in the gem's eyes made Steven feel slightly bad about his tone, it wasn't that big of a surprise thinking about it logically. Gems often struggled to grasp what humans found acceptable and unacceptable when it came to their privacy. Still, he had thought he wouldn't have to deal with any ems watching him sleep after he finally got Pearl to stop all those years ago.

"Spinel, look you can't do that ok? It makes me uncomfortable." Steven explained delicately, Spinel seemed to consider his words, a frown stretching across her features. Her arm shifted into a series of swirls her fist pushing against her chin in a ponderous manor. The physical made Steven chuckle lightly. He had never seen any gem able to shapeshift and morph with such ease. While she may have caused him massive amounts of trouble her body control was still doubtlessly amusing.

"Pearl said she does it, I'm just not good at the not getting caught part yet" Spinel whined slightly as her other hand reached down and reeled Steven to his feet, he felt confused for a moment. Pearl had stopped watching him sleep ages ago, she'd said so. Yet Spinel didn't seem like she was lying, but Pearl wouldn't keep doing that would she? Thinking about all Pearls overprotective moments it did sound like the exact kind of thing she'd do.

"I...We'll talk about this later, I need to...WAIT Garnet! I saw a light behind me before the explosion is Garnet back?" Steven questioned energetically as he gripped Spinel by the shoulders, her head swinging back and forth in exaggerated movements. She raised her hands prying Stevens grip from her shoulders before shaking her head and offering a nervous smile.

"She's fine Steven, her memories are back, at least I'm pretty sure they're back? The other gems seemed to think so," Spinel explained with a chuckle as Stevens grin grew wider. Part of her wondered if human grins usually got that big, or was he shape-shifting to show the depths of his excitement?

"YES! Then...Then we just need to get my powers back and we're set! I need to talk to her right away!" With that deluge of excited planning, Steven leaped to his feet and rushed down the stairs. His rush was interrupted at the bottom of the stairs when a pair of strong and familiar arms wrapped around him.

"Morning Steven," Garnet grinned as she lifted the teenager to look her in the eyes, Steven couldn't contain the rush of emotions. He wanted to laugh, cry, shout instead he settled for burying his face into her shoulder and hugging her tighter. He felt two other familiar sets of arms wrap around him from behind, surrounding him in a large group hug.

"I...I was so scared you guys, I'm so glad your back." He sniffled slightly as the grip around him tightened, this like so many other moments was one he wished could last forever.

"So Steven, why don't you take a shower? I think today is a together breakfast day." Pearl suggested as she pirouetted towards the kitchen, smile plastered across her face.

"Yeah dude, I wasn't gonna say anything but you kinda reek," Amethyst laughed as she leaped onto the couch, flicking on the TV. Steven opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted as Garnet pried him from her body.

"You had a long day Steven I think a shower would be just the thing," Garnet chuckled lightly as Steven pouted, sure now that the gems pointed it out he did feel grimy. He had been thrown around quite a bit the other day but overall he was cleaner than he'd expected. With a sigh, he accepted the gems were right and began his trip back up the stairs to gather clean clothes.

"Hey, where's Spinel? " Amethyst wondered aloud, Steven paused his movements as a blush covered his cheeks.

"You were with her last weren't you?" Pearl questioned with a disapproving frown as she continued to pull food and utensils from the cabinets. Garnet glanced up towards the stairs with a knowing look, pointedly ignoring her gaze Steven turned towards the kitchen.

"Pearl, you don't still watch me sleep right?" Steven glared suspiciously towards the pale gem, the question shocked her enough to drop the pan she was holding.

"Steven! Why...What would give you that idea! I said I stopped right? Why would you assume I simply cut back to twice a week and now solely watch you from the rafters and leave before you wake up. Don't be ridiculous!" Pearl rushed to explain, her blush only increasing at the fact everyone in the house was now staring at her...

"I'm sorry," Pearl mumbled as she glanced away from Steven, she resumed her quest to gather kitchen implements as Steven shook his head. With a bemused sigh, he made his way back up the stairs, while Pearls grasp on his privacy wasn't as strong as he hoped she was back to being Pearl and that was far more important.

He returned to his room to find Spinel sitting on his bed her legs swinging over the edge, she startled slightly as he re-entered his room. She stared at the ground guiltily and Steven was perplexed. He had been so excited about Garnets return he hadn't thought of Spinel, part of him had thought she'd simply follow him down the stairs. The fact that she hadn't seemed odd, sure he had been annoyed by her invading his privacy but he hadn't expected Spinel to just...Sit there.

"Spinel? Why didn't you come down with me?" He tried to put a reassuring grin on his face as he sat beside the pink gem, Spinel glanced up from her feet revealing tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"They don't like me, Steven, I nearly wiped out the planet, I almost killed you! I thought of that then I got stuck on the realization...They're back, you'll figure out your powers on your own...It's only a matter of time before you hate me too." Spinel mumbled under her breath, tears pouring from her eyes. Steven felt guilt wash over him, he had rushed straight to the gems without considering how the traumatized gem would feel.

After everything she'd been through it couldn't have been good for her to watch him run off right away. Even more, he knew she was wrong the gems didn't hate her, any more than they hated anyone else who tried to maim and or kill them. They were just on guard and needed time. Still, at this moment Spinel didn't need to hear that, she needed assurance that he wouldn't abandon her just because he had his other friends back. He wrapped his arms around the spinel pulling her tight to his chest, he heard a gasp at the sudden contact.

"Even if they did hate you it wouldn't matter because I like you and they trust me. They'll come around!" Steven swore to the gem as he felt her arms loop around him several times, pulling him into an even tighter almost painful embrace.

"...Spinel, I kinda need to grab my clothes and take a shower, while I do that I want you to go downstairs and talk to the gems," Steven chuckled lightly as he untangled himself from the overextended limbs. Spinel pouted at the suggestion but seemed resigned to the idea of facing the other gems, her eyes were drawn to him as he picked clothes out of the dresser.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Spinels neck stretched over his shoulder to gaze at the clothes in his dresser, then stretched further to allow it to swivel to fully face him. While weird it did make him want to laugh, her shape-shifting was ridiculous. Even Amethyst couldn't pull off the things Spinel did so casually.

"They're clothes Spinel, humans can't just form them out of light so we make them out of cloth see?" Steven explained as he lifted his shirt away from his skin, Spinel rubbed the raised fabric between two fingers her eyes widening at the realization his outfit wasn't just a manifestation from his gem.

"So what's a shower?" Spinel tilted her head as she released the fabric, the curiosity in her eyes was certainly a step up from the fear and sadness from earlier. Still, the question brought a blush to his face, he still remembered the awkward questions Peridot would end up asking as she tried to understand human life. In a way, it had been a massive weight off Steven's back when the green gem figured out how to use the internet to answer questions for her. Saying that he was pretty sure she'd gotten some less reliable information from there, it was still better than him having to answer awkward questions.

"Hmm...It's a spout that releases a spray of hot water, humans use to clean themselves since they can't just shape-shift or poof." Steven answered to the best of his abilities, while he felt confident she'd gotten the idea it could be a pain to explain human things to gems. He made a mental note to talk to Peridot about explaining humans to the new gem. Still, Spinel's curiosity seemed satisfied for the moment as he was able to gather the rest of his clothes and march to the bathroom without further questions.

* * *

Steven stepped out of the room and a few moments later Spinel heard the sound of flowing water, it made her pause. Steven had asked her to go down and talk to the other gems but he hadn't exactly said when. Glancing around the room guiltily she opened the door and followed the sound of moving water, she quickly found a door with steam emerging from the crack at the bottom. The humming from within assured her it was, Steven on the other side of the door.

She was at war with herself, on the one hand, she'd already annoyed Steven by watching him sleep, on the other was the insatiable curiosity. Human's clothes weren't part of them, Steven needed to get more to cover himself, he couldn't simply wear the ones he had on into the shower. Thus he was most likely now not wearing clothes, which meant he had stuff under said clothes that he needed to clean and couldn't just take off.

In the end, her curiosity won out over her guilt, whistling nonchalantly to herself she pushed her finger into the keyhole shifting it to match the shape. The door unlocked with a quiet click that made Spinel pause her whistling, realizing it wouldn't exactly help her look less guilty and would likely only draw Stevens attention.

The room on the other side of the door was a bit odd, a large mirror covered the wall. Beneath the mirror sat a faucet connected to a basin beneath it, below the basin was a set of cabinets. A rack in one corner held the clothes Steven had picked out, next to it sat a basket containing the clothes Steven had slept in.

This at least confirmed Spinel's thoughts on Steven now wearing nothing, judging by the source of the humming Steven was behind the curtained off area. She was slightly tempted to pull it aside to satisfy her curiosity but figured that would defeat the point of her stealthy approach. Focusing she stretched her head to peer over the curtain, luckily enough Steven didn't think to glance up to see her.

Curiosity satisfied she slipped back through the door, locking it behind her. While her questions about Steven's appearance without clothes were answered it only left her with more questions. Questions she couldn't realistically ask without Steven realizing she had spied on him, but she was still curious, why did humans cover themselves? Was it solely a way to express themselves? If so why was Steven blushing at her questioning his clothes? How did their anatomy even work?

Sighing internally she pushed aside her questions and braced herself to face the gems no doubt waiting for Steven to emerge. At the bottom of the stairs, she noticed a large purple cat sprawled across one of the stools facing the kitchen counter, it was the Amethyst from last night. Her shape-shifting was rather impressive, from Spinels memory quartz soldiers were not known for their bodily control.

The cat stared intensely at a plate sitting on the counter, her intense gaze flickering between the plate and the movements of the Pearl pirouetting throughout the kitchen. The gem's ears seemed to rise as Spinel finished descending the stairs, no doubt the Amethyst had heard the squeaking her body made with most movements. The gem turned in her seat shifting back to her usual form in a flare of light.

"Yo P, found her! Looks like she went up to watch Steven sleep after all, so how annoyed was he?" Amethyst grinned mischievously, as she leaned back against the counter to face her.

"He...He didn't seem annoyed, he said he needed a shower and I should come down to talk to you guys." Spinel assured nervously, while she wasn't sure about the other gems she didn't want them to grow irritated with her.

"Really, so when I do it I get the twelfth degree but when you do it it's fine, that's just entirely unfair." Pink's Pearl's voice echoed from the area beyond the counter, with slight trepidation Spinel stretched her legs, taking a seat next to the purple gem with two large strides.

Was it right to still call her pink's Pearl? Or was she now Steven's Pearl? Perhaps it would be better to simply think of her as Pearl now? She was pretty sure part of Steven's message was about gems being their own people, belonging to no one. Saying that she had been too focused on the parts of the message about pink to pay particular care for the actual message of peace. Pushing aside her pondering she noted at the new angle provided by the seat, she could make out Pearl poking through a large metal storage device.

Simultaneously there was an enticing aroma filling the air from something sizzling atop a metal device of some kind. Based on the smell and the Amethyst intense stare she surmised it was some kind of food. While she had never had food before her arrival on earth the day she'd spent with Steven before recovering her memories had introduced her to the concept. She couldn't help but wonder if what Pearl was making would be as good as the donuts she'd eaten...

"Uh, Pearl pretty sure it's third-degree..." The Amethyst snorted, eyes still locked on the sizzling food. Pearl emerged holding a strangely shaped container full of white round objects, Spinel couldn't help but wonder what they were even as Pearl cracked them open releasing the contents into a bowl.

"No that makes no sense, why would three degrees be notable? A human would hardly notice such a small change in temperature, now a full twelve degrees that's noticeable" Pearl shook her head, while the exact nature of there discussion evaded Spinel she could tell Pearl found Amethysts suggestion silly.

The purple gem grinned mischievously retaking her feline form in a flash of light, she bounded across the counter towards the sizzling food. Before Amethyst could reach her target a large gauntlet clad hand reached through one of many windows catching her mid-leap. A small white creature with black and orange spots sat patiently on the window sill, watching the gauntleted fist expectantly. Garnet's head leaned through the window staring at the purple cat trapped within her grasp.

"Bad cat." Garnet's voice while stoic had an edge of playfulness, the small feline on the sill seemed to meow in agreement. Garnet lightly patted the non-gem cat on the head causing it to produce a strange sound from its chest.

"Ha...Mind putting me down? I'm sorry? I won't do it again," Amethyst chuckled guiltily in the larger gem's grasp, squirming in a futile attempt to escape. The fusion frowned slightly as she ceased petting the felines head, raising her hand to her chin with.

"I need you to get Peridot and Bismuth, they're in Little Homeworld. We need to figure out how to repair the damage the injector has already caused," Garnet explained her voice lacking any playfulness. Spinel winced at the mention of her failed plan to destroy the earth, she hadn't thought about the damage the injector had already caused being a problem. Part of her wondered if Steven would be so forgiving when he realized the problems she had caused weren't over yet?

"Ugh...Man I just wanted some bacon, fine put me down and I'll go get them," Amethyst grouched, annoyed at the prospect of missing out entirely on the still cooking food. With a bright light, she shifted back to her true form, though she was still trapped in Garnets grip.

The fusion surprisingly didn't release the gem instead pulling her out through the window. Spinel couldn't resist the temptation to see the end of the bizarre confrontation and thus she stretched one of her eyes over the counter slithered it along the floor, up the wall to sit primly on the window sill. The cat seemed slightly confused by her eyes sudden approach, but after staring at her eye for a few seconds almost seemed to shrug before turning to watch the fusion alongside the wayward eye.

"You know, you really shouldn't lie to someone that can see the future. Nor should you make promises you can't keep," Garnet stated coolly as she turned in the general direction of Little Homeworld, she reared back her occupied hand.

"Woah wait, Garnet, don't!" Amethyst squirmed more desperately in the fusions grasp, alas Garnet seemed uninterested in her protest and with a great heave launched the gem over the house towards Little Homeworld her shout fading into the distance. Garnet nodded to herself before stepping back towards the window.

Garnet knelt to eye level with the cat and Spinels eye, she patted the cat on the head once more. She then stared at the pink eye, staring into the cool unfeeling visor was starting to freak Spinel out. Seeming to come to a decision the large fusion flicked the eye causing Spinel to retract it at terrific speed. While she rubbed her eye Garnet stepped through the window full to stand in the kitchen.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Spinel couldn't help the growl that escaped her as she glared at the fusion.

"That's for not listening to us about not watching Steven sleep," Garnet smirked as she walked past her towards the bottom of the stairs, taking a seat on the couch. Suddenly Spinel felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Pearl, one arm loaded with various random cooking implements. Raising her eyebrows she was about to ask her what she wanted only to be startled as Pearl flicked her nose.

"And that's for telling Steven I still watch him sleep, it took weeks for him to stop asking about it the first time he found out. Can you imagine how long it'll take for him to take my word for it now?" Pearl griped as she returned her focus to the food.

"Pearl, he may be more willing to believe you if you actually intended to stop," Garnet pointed out, small smile pulling on her lips. The way she tilted her head back it almost seemed like she was looking for something, or perhaps waiting.

"What was that, I couldn't hear you over the sound of the wonderful breakfast I'm preparing!" Pearl pointedly ignored Garnets suggestion as she continued preparing the food. Spinel couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of emptiness that clawed at her gem, she felt out of place, like an intruder gazing in on a world she didn't belong to.

* * *

Steven took his time in the shower, enjoying the warm blast of water coating his body. It was with great reluctance he turned the water off and stepped out of the showers warm embrace. He quickly brushed his teeth, ran a comb through his hair and threw on his pink jacket.

"Good morning Steven, looking fine as always," Steven chuckled lightly as he made finger guns at his reflection, it may have been a silly morning ritual but he had always been a bit silly anyway. Grin in place he rushed through the door to greet the morning, his excited pace led him to the top of the stairs in no time at all.

Steven leaped over the railing only to remember far too late his powers were still on the fritz, Steven closed his eyes as he prepared himself to crash face-first into the ground. To his surprise his fall was brought to a screeching halt, opening his eyes, he found himself staring into Garnet's visor.

"Thanks, Garnet!" Steven laughed, Garnet grinned lightly in response as she gently placed him on the ground mussing up his hair affectionately. His senses were suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of cooking bacon, his mouth watered as he turned to the kitchen. Noting Spinel he rushed to the stool beside her, in the kitchen Pearl was currently standing over the stove.

He was about to greet Pearl when a sound hit his ear, the sound of water hitting a flat surface. He turned to Spinel finding her eyes leaking massive tears, she had a thousand-yard stare and hadn't seemed to notice him.

Steven was at a loss for a moment, what had upset her? What was bothering her? What was she feeling to seem so far away? Pushing aside his questions he did the only thing he could think of, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. The pink gem didn't respond right away, squirming in his grasp before seeming to realize where she was and who had a grip on her.

"...Steven? Where...Why..." Spinels voice cracked, and Steven felt his heart bleed for her. She may have wanted to kill him and the earth but the list of friends Steven had with that exact description had grown rather long. His mind couldn't help but flashback to the words he told Bismuth all that time ago, nobody deserved this.

"It's ok, you're not alone anymore," Steven assured, Spinel's eyes nearly doubled in size before she buried her head into his shoulder. He could feel his jacket growing damp from her tears, he lightly patted her back. He could just make out her muffled crying, she was mumbling over and over that she wasn't alone. Pearl had turned no doubt to greet him and inform him breakfast was ready but politely turned around upon seeing the pink gem breaking down in his arms.

* * *

Time passed in a bit of a blur for Spinel, Steven had wrapped her in a warm embrace when he noticed her breaking down. She had quickly noted a few things she hadn't before, for instance, Steven was incredibly soft in a way gems weren't. During the early days with pink, before her smiles became rare, before her smile had become forced, pink would sometimes hug her.

It was nothing like hugging Steven, everything about his body seemed to give when she applied pressure, part of her wondered how much he would squish with more pressure? Alas from what little she knew of humans it seemed that would be liable to harm him, she also wondered if all humans shared this quality or if it was a uniquely Steven thing. The warmth in his voice as he promised she wouldn't be alone anymore was overwhelming, she may not have felt like part of the crystal gems world but Steven made her feel like part of his world.

After her miniature breakdown, Pearl presented Steven with something she called a together breakfast, a stack of food drenched in a brown thick liquid. Alongside that she placed a purple can down next to the plate, Spinel asked why it was called together breakfast which led into a story about some of their misadventures. While Pearl and Garnet were telling the tale Steven began devouring the food the flat disc-shaped food items were known as waffles.

Spinel felt sorely tempted to steal one of the waffles off Stevens plate, it smelt delicious. He would also pause his chewing to down some liquid from the metallic can. He seemed to notice the fact her eyes had become swirls during her intense stare-off with his meal. He gave a boisterous laugh that broke her from her stupor, the laugh-filled her gem with an intense feeling of satisfaction.

The laugh was infinitely different from pinks laughter, deep and energetic, full of a warmth that pinks own had never held. It warmed the very core of her gem, it was a bit of a shock but Steven's laugh had just replaced pinks as her favorite sound.

She blushed when she realized Steven was holding out one of the waffles on his fork, grinning she stretched her mouth open and devoured the waffle in a single bite. chewing slowly she came to the conclusion it was just as amazing as it smelt. While she had missed a good chunk of the story Garnet and Pearl had told she felt this small moment was a far better use of her time.

"YEAAAAHHHH!" The tranquility was broken a loud shout of excitement, as Amethyst crashed through the still open window rolling along the ground to smash into Pearl. suddenly the door burst open, a small green Peridot marched into the room, followed by a Lapis and Bismuth. The Peridot glanced around the room, her eyes settling on Amethyst and Pearls inter-tangled position, her grin spreading wider at the sight.

"Yeah, Lapis twenty points!" Peridot cried victoriously as she held up a hand, Lapis stared at it for a moment before a lazy smile spread across her face as she lightly tapped her hand against the smaller gem's own.

"Sorry, we got your package thought it'd only be right to give it back the way we got it," Bismuth chuckled lightly, though Spinel could sense her gaze lingering on her longer than the others. Her gaze full of suspicion and mistrust, it took all Spinels self-control not to glare at the large gem.

"So...We need to talk about the whole...You know wrecked area near the lighthouse, that injector was full of some potent stuff. While it's no longer going to end the world left as it is right now the fluid will continue to spread and eventually make the town uninhabitable to organic life in the course of... About a week." The Peridot explained as she read data off a strange-looking metallic device, each word felt like a knife through Spinel's gem.

The guilt felt overwhelming, her mind raced, was this it? Had they finally realized she wasn't worth the trouble? Were they going to bubble her or simply shatter her off the bat? Her panic ceased when she felt something soft and warm in her hand, glancing down she saw Steven had taken her hand. While he wasn't smiling the look in his eyes said it all, he wasn't mad, he didn't hate her...He wasn't throwing her away.

"Steven any luck with getting your powers back? Your spit should be able to fix this mess," Lapis asked hopefully as she gazed at Steven. Pearl finally freed herself from Amethyst, shoving the smaller gem onto the couch.

"No luck and I don't know why. This has been my entire life, paying for moms choices, fighting someone I've never wanted to fight, heck I spent all day yesterday covering parts of my life to get you guys back to normal. I don't...I don't understand what I'm missing." Stevens hand left hers as he gripped his hair in frustration.

"Your thinking too much about what happened not enough about how it happened."Garnets stoic voice echoed throughout the room halting Spinels shame spiral before it could even begin. All the gems eyes turned to the fusion, curiosity coloring there eyes.

"What...What does that even mean?" Steven questioned as he stared into Garnet's visor, trying to find answers in its reflective surface.

"You need to figure that out for yourself...Hmm...Follow me," Garnet shook her head as she stood to march out the door, the gathered gems all glanced at one another in confusion. Slowly they filtered out to follow the fusion that seemed to have found an answer to their problems, Steven was the last to rise from his seat. While he didn't acknowledge it he didn't push away Spinels hand when she shoved it into his, he was far too lost in his own world as he pondered Garnets words.

* * *

Steven stared around at the gathered gems, they had climbed up the hillside to view the destruction wrought by Spinels injector. He finally noticed Spinel holding his hand when her grip tightened as the cracked and dead ground came into view. He was slightly tempted to push away the gem's hand as her grip grew painful but figured Spinel needed the support. The pain helped him remain focused as well, Garnets words were swirling in his mind.

What wasn't he getting, how it happened? What did that mean? He had been thrown into situations like this so many times, yet Garnet claimed the answer lied in the how rather than the what. How had he accomplished those things? He'd gotten lucky, he'd had his friends, he constantly been in over his head.

The more he thought about it the more frustrating it got, at least Spinel didn't seem liable to freak out. The gem wasn't the most emotionally stable, the longer he thought about Spinel the more something in the back of his mind itched...Something she had said was important possibly even the key but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was and the gem herself didn't seem to know either.

She had said he wasn't always a great hero, which was true for a majority of his life he had been a kid in over his head. Yet here he was, in the future, a galaxy at peace, how had he done it...

"I changed, I wasn't always a great hero, I wasn't always strong...But I changed, I changed the Diamond's minds, I changed the corrupted gems, even more, I changed myself! That's the missing piece! I grew, loved, lost and more I changed. I was so set on a happily ever after I forgot that there's no such thing, there'll always be more to do, more to grow and most importantly more to change!" Steven cried out as his gem tingled, pulling his hand from Spinels grip he formed a shield, then a bubble, the pink energy flowing and changing around him before receding.

His body practically glowed with renewed strength, licking the palm of his hand he slammed it onto the dead ground causing grass and plant matter to spring up in a circle around him. The other gems cheered, Garnet gave a thumbs-up as Amethyst slapped him on the back. Pearl pulled him into a brief hug and Bismuth high fived Peridot while Lapis mimicked Garnet and gave a supportive thumbs up. As Steven pulled away from Pearl and Amethyst he noted the giant grin plastered across Spinels face.

Her arm suddenly stretched out to him and enlarged, it took a moment for Steven to recognize the gesture. When he did, he couldn't contain the laugh as he slapped his hand against hers in a high five.

**So yeah chapter two...Love it? Hate it? Let me know**


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